And Ms Kaz said: “You don’t get it @Glos_Police. We the people like the individual #PD accounts & the feeling of inclusion #nothappy.”

But Gloucestershire police defended its decision.

A spokesman said: “Gloucestershire Constabulary values the role of social media as a means of public engagement and our officers play a vital part in that by their use of a number of platforms.

“The officers engage daily with their followers offering an insight into the work of the force, keeping them informed of what is going on in the neighbourhood and encouraging dialogue within the community.

“In the past a number of officers, not just those within the dog teams, have had their own individual accounts, which does not comply with force policy.

“Our dog handlers are now being encouraged to sign up to a joint Twitter account which means that all their news and information will be in one place."

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The force pointed out this is the same service offered by the Neighbourhood Policing Teams, Mounted Unit and Special Constabulary.

Police dog Bear

“This will make it easier for members of the public to follow all of our police dogs and their handlers from one account and to see the breadth of work they undertake, as well as offering a central place for the team as a whole to engage with the people of Gloucestershire," the spokesman added.

“The officers will tweet using their own names and will be able to post their news and images of their own dogs just as they do at the moment.

“They are, of course, free to have their own personal Twitter accounts but these should not be used for information relating to Gloucestershire Constabulary."